Her Daddy, Seto Kaiba
by xLady-Helenax
Summary: AU! 8 year old orphan Shiori Teguchi is adopted by our beloved and mildly grumpy CEO, Seto Kaiba. Note: ON HIATUS. TO BE REWRITTEN.
1. The Adoption

**Chapter One – The Adoption**

Despite being CEO and having large responsibilities and projects to head, twenty-six year-old Seto Kaiba scheduled to take the day off. What he was about to do would indeed take a whole day to go over.

At 10 AM sharp, he stepped into his limousine and opened the window separating him from the driver in order to tell him his destination. Mokuba had asked, nay begged to come along today, but Kaiba refused. This was something he had to do on his own.

"Geoffrey, take me to Kasai Orphanage," he said. The driver nodded, and began their trip to their destination. Kaiba did not have any work with him at that time, so he occupied himself with simply looking out the window.

He was heading to that orphanage for many reasons. One being that it was the one he had lived at, before "defeating" Gozaburo Kaiba into adopting him and Mokuba. Even though those years were… better left forgotten, it was what eventually made him as successful as he was today. And his success was what he was worried about.

Being the smart man he was, Seto Kaiba realized that one day, he wouldn't be able to control Kaiba Corporation anymore. He would be too… _old_. He decided to plan ahead.

He was going to Kasai Orphanage to adopt a child to be his successor or heir; one that would be able to learn how to run a company and eventually take over once he would retire.

He did however promise himself that he would never resort to the methods his father had used on him to 'shape' him. Kaiba admitted to himself that he had done many things in his life that were wrong, but this meant a lot to him.

When he felt the car stop and its ignition turn off, Kaiba opened the door and stepped out. "_This place hasn't changed much_," he thought grimly. The foliage had obviously grown more, and the exterior had since been repainted, but nevertheless, it was still very much the same.

He remembered it being bigger, though.

He stepped past the gates and stood at the door, ringing its bell. Shortly a stout woman appeared at the door with a smile on her face. When she saw who she was facing, her smiled faltered just a little. Yet, she still kept up the warm smile that he remembered.

"Seto! My, it's been a long time! Please, please. Come inside," she said, moving aside to usher him in. He nodded in response, and stepped inside. Even the inside hadn't changed all that much, he noticed.

She led him to her office, where he took a seat in front of the desk. She took the seat in front of him, still smiling.

"I trust you aren't here to walk down memory lane, Kaiba?" she said. Kaiba chuckled. He remembered she was always for getting right down to business.

"Correct Mrs. Kasai. I've come here to adopt a child," he explained, though it was obvious. She nodded, pursing her lips.

"You never seemed to be a parenting person, Kaiba. Then again, you did take care of Mokuba the whole time, so I trust your decisi – "

There was a knock at the door which interrupted her sentence. She and Kaiba turned to look at the visitor. Kaiba figured she was a worker at the orphanage; she bowed twice in front of the two of them before speaking.

"Mrs. Kasai, your assistance is needed for a few moments, please," she said. Kasai nodded and stood up from her seat, going towards the door.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba. I will be with you momentarily, if you wouldn't mind waiting here," she said before leaving after the girl.

He took this opportunity to observe the children in the playground; see what he was getting himself into. He had hopes of leaving there today with a child that wasn't whiney or anything like that.

A lot of the kids running around the playground were pretty much just as he expected – to oriented with games. There was a small group of children playing tag or one of its many spin-offs; a few were playing on the jungle gym, the swings, and sandbox. Two were playing cards on the picnic bench. And judging by their actions, they were playing Duel Monsters.

One child took his attention for a minute. He only noticed her because she had fallen down while running. Her shoelace had been undone. She had fell face first into the dirt, scraping her hands, shins and face. He remembered that experience very well, since he had to run to the aid of Mokuba frequently during their time here.

He would have moved on if it wasn't for what she did next. The girl sat up on the ground, and began wiping the dirt from her injuries. She didn't cry _once_. She stood up, wiped herself off, and went over to one of the workers, who handed her a bandage. When the worker offered to put it on for her, she turned them down. She sat down on a bench, and did it herself. She finally saw that her shoelace was undone, fixed it, then ran out to the kids she was playing with again.

His first impression of this girl was that she was independent; if she fell down, she would pick herself up again, solve the problem and keep going strong.

He liked her, from the choices he had anyways. He continued his watch of her, not noticing Mrs. Kasai coming back into the room. She stood beside him, and looked out.

"Ah, I see you've spotted Shiori Teguchi. She's a wonderful child; so strong and polite. The workers adore her, you know," she explained. Kaiba nodded.

"How'd she end up here?"

"Shiori? Her parents died when she was three, and she was left here by her relatives before they moved out of the country. She's been here for four years now. Personally, I don't like those relatives of hers. We dealt with the custody papers, and when they took her in, they weren't exactly the high class people they were when they dropped her off here. And they haven't even tried to contact us once since then," she said sourly. Mrs. Kasai was normally a very docile woman, so seeing her like this surprised Kaiba.

Shiori's story intrigued him; it was just like the life he had before Gozaburo took him 'under his wing'.

His mind was made up.

"I'd like to adopt her – Shiori Teguchi," he stated. Mrs. Kasai beamed.

"_She's finally going to get the life she deserves. Hopefully not only one life will be changed with this adoption!_" she chuckled to herself. She went back to her desk and picked up the telephone, pressing a button.

"Could someone please bring Shiori to my office, please?" she said into the receiver. The workers in the playground all put their radio's to their ears, and one took Shiori by the hand, smiling. She knew what was about to happen.

Promptly, the worker and Shiori arrived into the office.

She stood, at the highest, to barely half way up his chest. Her nine-year-old, youthful features included soft golden brown hair, reaching to just an inch or two beyond her slim shoulders. Her most distinctive features were, aptly put, distinctive. An infectious and childish grin, that he had yet to experience, and large, cheerful azure eyes.

Shiori's head stretched high up in order to look Kaiba in the face, but smiled at him anyways. He didn't think he looked _that_ scary, did he?

"Shiori, I'd like you to meet Mr. Kaiba. He's interested in adopting you," Mrs. Kasai explained. Shiori looked at her, then turned her head back to Kaiba and held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kaiba," she said. Kaiba took her hand and she shook it firmly. Her hand was so small compared to his.

Two hours or so later, Shiori left the orphanage smiling with a new name – Shiori Kaiba – and a new father.

_Her daddy, Seto Kaiba._

****

**So that's it! The first actual chapter of my "career"! Expect more out of me soon. Maybe Labour Day? I'm not sure. School starts up after that, and I made a oath to myself and a friend of mine that I will _try_ this year to get good grades. That, and I might loose possession of my beloved _derrier _if I don't. So, review kindly! Writers live off of reviews, especially the new ones.**

**Feed the starving writer/artist, please! Thankies!**

**-hugs and kisses- xLHx**

_ps - To be honest, I have no clue how the modern day adoption proceedings work. The only way I know is the now inaccurate way portrayed in "Annie", where inspiration for this stort came from. Please, if you **do** know how it works, and can summise it for me so that it works in the story without being too awkward, tell me! I like to be as accurate as I can with matters such as this!_

_A pre-thankies is in order... _

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	2. First Day

** Here is the second installment of _Her Daddy, Seto Kaiba_. School's started again, but I shouldn't stop updating completely. I just have to concentrate on my school work first. I've got a few rather strict teachers this year **_I'm SO doomed_**. You know how it is --;;; (**_you: it's evil_**). Anywho, enjoy!**

**Are there any readers of Inkheart and Inkspell, by Cornelia Funke? **_Get ready for shameless advertising... _**If you haven't already read them, **_don't walk _**RUN to your nearest book store and buy them. Hopefully hardcover, because Mo, and especially Elinor, will be disappointed if you don't buy a book properly!**

**Chapter Two – First Day**

Shiori had already been impressed enough that day by riding in a limousine for the first time in her life. She had read a few articles in the daily press about Seto Kaiba: his achievements in the worlds of business, technology, dueling and occasionally rumours. She never could have dreamed to actually be _adopted_ by him. She slowly believed she would ever be adopted at all. Orphans are like animals. You always want the puppies.

When they pulled up to her new home, Shiori's face lit up with awe; she hardly left her place besides the window the whole ride up the driveway. Kaiba seemed unfazed with it. It was just his home, nothing special.

She was even surprised to have the car door opened for her. The white-gloved man who opened the door for her smiled warmly at her when she stepped out. She moved forward so that Kaiba could exit the car as well. But she didn't move besides that; she stood in front of the mansion and stared at it with her mouth open. She'd done this many times before - looking, but never touching. That was a rule enforced by the workers at the orphanage she had come to call home.

Kaiba looked at her. This must look like paradise compared to the orphanage she lived at for most of her known life. He didn't blame her for reacting this way.

"Follow me inside, Shiori," he said.

"…'kay…" she murmured, as she took hold of his hand. Her face still didn't change from complete astonishment. She was still taking in the view. The sweet, _expensive_ view.

Kaiba stiffened when she took his hand, but reluctantly held it back (_lightly_) as he lead her into the house.

Servants stopped from their duties and stared at the sight before them. _The_ Seto Kaiba, was holding hands with a child? Had they eaten something bad, making them have hallucinations, or was this really real? One could faintly hear small exclamations of pain from the house, the results of servants either being asked to be pinched, or just pinching themselves to see if this was actually happening in front of them.

"Seto!"

Both their attentions were averted to a person approaching them from one of the rooms leading off from the foyer. A teenager in all respects, now only a few inches shorter than Kaiba, with wild long hair stretching to just beyond his shoulders. Large amethyst eyes looked onto the newcomer, with hopes and dreams for both her and her new family's succes; aswell as the sadness he had kept behind his mask for so many years.

"Is this my new little niece?" he laughed, kneeling down to Shiori's level.

Shiori studied his face carefully, memorizing it, before flashing a serene smile and sticking out her hand.

"I'm Shiori Kaiba," she said proudly for the first time. The servants surrounding them smiled, and then continued on what they were doing. They learned what they wanted to know.

"I'm Mokuba Kaiba, Seto's younger brother. And your new uncle, too!" he said, ruffling her hair up. Shiori laughed a childish laugh at the attention, but that was soon consumed by a yawn. After Seto's announcement that he was adopting her, there were hours of paperwork to go through - custody papers, official adoption certificates... the legal papers took longer than expected, being as that his lawyer claimed to get stuck in traffic. It had been a long day for her, requiring much sleep. When Mokuba stood upright and reached for her hand, she let go of Seto's. His hand did not clench as it might have - it lingered in the position where it held a child's hand.

"I'm going to take Shiori to her room, alright Seto?" Mokuba said. Seto nodded, and turned to head off towards his home workroom. He raised his arm, putting out two fingers to wave them goodnight. Mokuba was used to that signal. It meant that he wished them pleasant dreams, and that they would always be safe. Seto wasn't a man of many words, and this was his signal to them that he cared.

As they were taking the route to Shiori's room, Mokuba noticed that she was slowing down behind him. Sleep was taking her with every second. With a small amused smile, he picked her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way. She snuggled in his arms. She was begining to remember what love felt like.

It wasn't much of a longer walk to her room. There was a wing in the inner loop of the house, facing the inner courtyard, that was reserved for the Kaiba family to live in. Seto insisted it was on the inner half of their home, to ensure that no one could get in from the outside. The inner courtyard was well guarded. He knew very well what the ransom of a Kaiba member could be, and he did not want to have Mokuba taken away from him again.

The ward had about eight rooms in it, all substantially large. Shiori's room was two rooms down from his and three doors down and across from Seto's. The room wasn't very girly or personalized, but he would he see to it that it would fit her liking very shortly.

Until then, her room had the general basics (at least for the Kaiba family): a perfect king-sized bed with white beddings, a desk with state of the art computer techonology, a working fireplace, empty book shelves, a en-suite bathroom with a shower and large tub, and a large walk in closet.

Mokuba, having a room very similar to this, he thought nothing of it, and went straight towards the bed.

He let Shiori down softly onto her bed. She sunk heavily into the sheets, already asleep. He had hoped that he wouldn't wake her up when he moved her into a proper position to sleep in for the night, but apparently she was a rather heavy sleeper from the get-go, since she didn't awaken once.

Before leaving the room, he wrote a note to be left on her bed-side table, explaining where his and her father's rooms were, in case she needed anything during the night. And to ensure that she wouldn't get lost in the house. He knew that was a feat easily done, having experianced it many times before in his youth.

With a kiss goodnight on her forehead, Mokuba left the room.

_I know everything's going to change now!_ Mokuba thought.

**_"I know it!"_**

**---**

At close to 8:30 the next morning, Shiori woke up. She hadn't _gotten_ up yet. She was still savouring the feeling of such a large and soft bed. She had figured that maybe she should get out of bed and start exploring the house, though there was one obsticle in her way: she had no clue where she was. Or where to start, for that matter.

And so, as luck would have it, one of the maids working in the house came into her room, carrying a breakfast tray full of food.

"Good morning, Miss Shiori!" she beamed, placing the tray of food on her nightstand. Shiori sat up in her bed and stared at her, with a confused expression.

"Don't I normally have to go downstairs for breakfast?" she asked. The girl nodded, but continued serving out her breakfast, signalling for her to sit at the end of her bed to reach the collapsible table she had set up.

"Normally, yes. But Mokuba had asked us earlier this morning if you could eat here for today, and I could show you around the property. He didn't want you to get lost and never be found!" she laughed. Shiori nodded, and began eating her breakfast. They spent a few moments in silence, as the maid began cleaning the room and organizing Shiori's clothing in her closet.

"What's your name?" Shiori asked. The girl looked at her, as if it were asked in a foreign language. That question wasn't normally asked to her at this home.

"It's Yume," she said quietly. Shiori smiled sweetly, and continued on eathing her breakfast.

**---**

Shiori could have never imagined living in a home such as the one she would now live in. It was larger than three of her orphanages put together! She was trying to hard to remember where everything Yume showed her was. There was alot to remember, though.

She had lead Shiori through much of the home. They had stopped several times to speak to many of the other workers in the house. Shiori's smile seemed to be infectious to everyone who saw it, leaving them smiling after meeting her. Yume had taken her to some of the main places inside the house, including the main foyer, study, the den. Granted, there were many rooms in this estate, but every single one had a use, even if they were not used very often.

As they neared one of the final places of her tour, Yume stopped to explain a very important matter to Shiori about her father.

"Shiori, you do know what Mr. Kai – your father, does, do you not?"

"Yes. I follow some of the articles in the newspaper when I get the chance."

"Where I'm about to show you is his laboratory and work shop. He's very picky about the people that head in there. Only he and Mokuba are allowed in. Not even cleaning personnel are allowed inside. I'm just going to show you it, so you know where it is," Yume explained.

"If I'm not allowed in, then why do you need to show it to me?"

"In case of emergencies, I guess would be the best answer. It has to be a very good emergency, though. He's not fond of people running into his lab when they can solve the problem themselves."

Shiori nodded in compliance. She would have to ask Mokuba about that later.

**---**

As Yume explained the situation about his workshop, Seto was inside working. He had been testing the limits of his latest development. He had been there since the crack of dawn, which was rather normal on most days. He only took a break to have something for breakfast, though it certainly was not much. Only a black coffee and half of a bagel. He had alot of work left to do with this idiotic machine, and he could not spare a minute of his time.

He was rather unsatisfied with the results of his design. As hard as he tried, it never worked as he expected it to. He had come so far in the process of completion, and he refused to give up like a pathetic loser might. He was Kaiba, he could not afford a flawed system. Yet he could not see the mistake in his design, and this irritated him to no end.

**---**

With their tour being completed, Yume and Shiori went back to the kitchens to have lunch. Yume was surprised to see that she was actually following the girl, instead of leading her. She was interested to see just how smart she would be when she entered elementary school in the fall.

Thankfully, Mokuba was also in the kitchen at the time of their arrival, eating his own lunch. Shiori rushed over to him and took the stool next to him.

Of the day that he had known her, the two of them got along incredibly quickly. Only formally would he introduce Shiori as his neice. In his heart, she seemed to stay as his younger sister. He was elated to find that he would be an uncle, and couldn't have asked for anyone other than Shiori. He knew that her just being there would change things. He had always been protected by his older brother, and he appreciated it, knowing it was his way of showing him that he loved him, and would do anything for him. Would Seto Kaiba treat Shiori the same way?

While the two of them ate their dessert, Shiori approached Mokuba about the rules of Seto's workshop. She knew the obvious reasons to why it was off bounds to the servants in the house like Yume - since they could leak his secret projects to rival companies, but she wouldn't ever betray her fathers trust like that.

Mokuba heaved a sigh. He figured this would come after her tour.

"Seto has problems in trusting people. Once gaining control over Kaiba Corp, Seto seemed to have lost all faith in the concept of trust. The only person he _did_ trust was me, and that's because he knew I would never betray him. He's had his trust broken before, and he won't ever make that mistake again. He doesn't let anyone in there not only for business reasons, but personal ones as well," Mokuba explained.

"Doesn't he trust me?"

"I'm sure he will eventually. And I doubt an 8 year old girl would go out in the middle of the night to tell people secrets when she should be in bed," he joked.

"Could I come into the lab just a _little_? I'll stand perfectly still, I won't make a sound!" she begged. Mokuba looked a little sceptical. He didn't want to decide on his own, since Seto would get very cross with him. And even though he was his brother, it was not wise to get on his bad side.

"I'll ask Seto if you can. No promises though, alright?" he said, pointing his finger for emphasis. Shiori was overjoyed, and quickly agreed to the deal.

**---**

After lunch, Mokuba entered the workshop, like he normally did. He promised Shiori he would at least _ask _Seto if she was allowed to come in. She was his _daughter_, after all. He would have to trust her eventually. It was not like she was a toy; she couldn't be returned if he didn't like her. He would have to learn to trust her if she were to inherit Kaiba Corp when she was older. This was Mokuba's main trump card. If that didn't work… he'd have to think of a backup plan _very_ quickly.

Like every time Mokuba had entered the workshop over the past few weeks, he found his older brother hovering over the keyboards of his computer, writing in commands and making changes to the design of his latest system. He seemed more aggravated than normal. _Seto mustn't have found a solution to his problem yet_, Mokuba had thought..

Mokuba approached the subject carefully. His brother was in one of those "ignore the rest of the world" moods right now. Mokuba, however, managed to fit _just_ inside the world he was concentrated on. Hopefully, Shiori would too. Hopefully being the operative word.

"Seto, can I ask you something?"

"If you make it quck," he replied non-coherently. Mokuba sighed quietly. '_The moment of truth_ '…

"Would it be alright if I brought Shiori into the lab? She has the right to see it sometime. It's not like she woul –" Seto raised his hand up from the keyboard, silencing Mokuba. _This could either be a good thing, or a bad thing_, Mokuba thought. Seto opened his mouth to speak. Mokuba prepared himself for the worst…

**---**

Half an hour later, Mokuba emerged from the lab with an answer to Shiori's question.

He found Shiori exactly where he left her; sitting in the kitchen. She was seemingly reading an article about Seto, and seemed very interested in it. It was only natural that now she would want to read everything she could about her father. In front of her sat a plate of fresh cookies, which apparently both she and the chef in the kitchen had made together. She had flour on her arms.

Mokuba took the seat next to her and stole one of her cookies, which instantly got her attention. She looked up to face him.

"What did he say?" Mokuba did not reply at first, and he took another cookie to stall telling her. Shiori's face fell into a frown. She figured he would say…

"You're allowed in," he laughed. Her face completely changed after hearing his response.

"_Really_!"

"So long as you come in with me the first few times. He said you could come in this afternoon, if you like."

And that was exactly what they did.

Shiori didn't do much while in the lab. All she really wanted to do was just watch. Mokuba helped Seto out when he could, and although asked Shiori if she wanted to do anything else, she shook her head. She was content with just watching them work. Seto didn't mind. She wasn't in the way at all. She wasn't touching anything, ruining anything, asking questions that were too suspicious (_though he doubted she worked for a rival company_). Quite obediant for an eight year old. He was rather pleased with her behavior.

An hour passed of more concentrated work. Re-adjust this, re-write that. Seto was getting quite fed up with the failed outcomes of the tests. No matter how much he changed things, he could not get the damn thing to work like he intended it to!

Kaiba, in sheer annoyance and exhaustion, slumped into his seat, and stared blankly at the screen above him.

**85 effective.**

No machine he had created had ever been below **97**. And even then he improved it to perfection. What could possibly be so wrong?

While he "cooled off" in his seat, running all reasons why it might not work through his mind, he did not notice Shiori slip from the stool she sat on and approach his machine with the stool in tow, kneeling on the seat to lean over and stareat all the wiring and machinery. She then examined the blueprints on the table, to further understand what was going on with the system.

"Can I make a suggestion about this thing?" she asked from across the room. Kaiba broke from his reverie, sat up in his seat and stared at her. Why – better yet _how_ – could Shiori make a suggestion? When he didn't answer, she took it as a sign to continue.

"You're using a bunch of parts that you don't need, and it's slowing it down. If you moved this exhaust tube –"she pointed to a small tube, then to another location nearby," – here, it would take away this whole part (which she indicated by waving her hand madly over it). It'll work faster, and you'll save lots of money from supplies too," she said.

Kaiba and Mokuba continued to stare at her in general disbelief.

"Do you want me to do it? Or I can show you, too."

Kaiba stood up and walked over to Shiori, looking into the machine. She knelt over and explained again to what she was talking about, and a few minutes later, the change was made. Shiori had a bit of oil on her shirt, and Kaiba's hands got a little covered since he had made the change. Kaiba took a seat at his computer once again, and tested the machine. Shiori pulled up her stool and sat next to him. Mokuba, curiosity picking at him, came to stand behind Kaiba and Shiori.

**100 effective.**

Kaiba was completely amazed. It had taken him ages to figure out how to get that thing working right, yet it took Shiori only a glance to see his mistake. He was undoubtedly impressed. He turned his head to the left, and looked at Shiori, who was staring at the screen with amazement written all over her face.

"Where did you learn that?" he asked. She turned to look at him.

"There was an older boy who really liked mechanics, and I read alot of his books. And whenever Mrs. Kasai's brother would come to visit us, Koji and I would always get to work on his car with him," she said, as if it were _that_ simple. Kaiba, who admittedly never really looked into a car engine before, was impressed.

Mokuba laughed. Even though Kaiba didn't show it, he could tell that he was proud of Shiori. He put his hand on Shiori's head, ruffling up her hair. She laughed, although she tried to get him to stop. It had become a habit of his to do that when she wasn't expecting it.

"It's almost time for dinner, kiddo. I think we should go. You've got to get changed anyways! Look," he said, pointing down to the stain on her shirt. When she turned her head down to see, he flicked her nose up.

"Heey! That's not fair!" she squealed, her hands retreating to her nose. Mokuba laughed, and held out his hand to help her down. She took it and shortly, the two of them exited the room together. Shiori called goodbye to him just as the door closed behind them. This left Kaiba alone to finish up his work.

He smirked. She was one remarkable child.

**---**

Later that evening, at around 10 pm, Kaiba decided that he was done for the day. He had a long day ahead of him tomorrow at the office about marketing what he had been working on, so he would head off to bed earlier. Normally, he would get to bed at at least midnight, maybe even later.

He passed Shiori's room on the way to his own, and slowed down his pace outside her door when he heard her and Yume talking; he assumed she would be telling her all about her day. He wanted to see what she thought of living here.

"… And I helped him work on his invention! Yume, it was **so** cool!" Shiori said excitedly. Yume laughed.

"He must be very proud of you, Shiori!" Yume said happily.

"I hope so, too…" her voice trailed off, and she yawned loudly. Yume chuckled.

Kaiba, who was basically eavesdropping on the conversation at this point, wondered about this. He wasn't all that great at expressing emotion or gratitude, but he **was** proud of Shiori. Did she not know that? She was a special child. He didn't know how to tell her, but he hoped that she understood.

"I think it's time that you get some sleep, Shiori," Yume said softly. Shiori nodded, and sunk down into her bed, snuggling into its warmth. Yume knelt over and tucked her in.

Kaiba walked the rest of the way down the hallway at a fast pace before Yume could notice that he was outside the door. He closed his door just as Yume was about to leave Shiori's room.

"Goodnight Shiori," Yume said from the door, flicking off the light switch.

"Goodnight Yume," she replied, in a lazy voice.

She whispered a quiet goodnight to her father into the night, before sleep took her for her second night at the Kaiba mansion. Her heart had found it's place at last. In the home, and hearts, of the Kaiba family.

_With her Daddy, Seto Kaiba._

_**---**_

**Yey! The end of Chapter two! Hooray for me, updating rather quickly! Remember, read and _review_! I'll need all the strength I can get, having to wake up at un-godly hours like quarter after six to get to school on time... how horrible. I might just _die_ from a lack of sleep... _and reviews._ (-hint hint-)**

**-hugs and kisses- xLHx **

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	3. Shopping

**Woah... long time since I've made an update. I'M SORRY. I'm going to use the abused excuse of that darn education of mine. Thanks to school, I've been awfully busy. I have a really big academic load this semester (science, math and french being the biggies!), so my time has been consumed. I'm going to try to make them more frequent, I promise!**

Thank you to everyone who's reviewed me so far! huggles You guys rawk! With an 'awk', because you are _that_ cool!

**Disclaimer: I ****do not, nor ****shall I ever** (_considering my financial situation..._) **own YuGiOh!**... I'm sorry. Besides, if I did, I would probably run it into the ground with constant Seto x Jounouchi scenes of DOOM. Or make it really crappy in general...

**Chapter 3 – Shopping**

Seto was diligently working on the finishing touches to the operations programming of his latest invention It was another virtual reality gaming system. What he had been working on was the part of the machine that supported the power needed for the virtual processor.

A gentle _tap tap tap came_ from outside his office door. Being in a generally good mood, he didn't yell at the person who wanted in for disturbing is concentration as he might normally have done. He called them into his office momentarily, taking his concentration away from his computer for the time being.

Yume stepped inside the room, taking a few steps from the door after she closed it behind her, but generally assuring she was close to it in case that the conversation were to go 'sour'.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked. Yume fumbled with the hem of her skirt, before raising her head and replying.

"I've been the one who's been taking care of Shiori somewhat for the past two weeks, as you may already know…" she began. Kaiba nodded.

"I am aware. If you're asking for a raise, I'll give you one for the extra work you're doing," he said. Her eyes widened in surprise, but shook her head.

"That would be nice, sir, but this is about Shiori. I've noticed that she doesn't have that many clothes. What she does have should probably be replaced, too. They aren't exactly clothes that withstand what she puts them through during the day," she said, the smile still gracing her pleasant features.

Shiori had been spending a lot of time in the lab with Kaiba, and her clothes normally got some type of oil on the front of them. And in most cases, that oil didn't come out. Other days, generally one that had too precious of weather to waste, she would go outside and play, which lead her to get grass, dirt, and mud and sometimes blood stains (from her arms and legs, from tripping on her shoelaces all the time)… which also didn't come out so well in the wash.

Kaiba nodded, and thanked Yume for telling him. He still planned on giving her a raise anyways, since she had been doing more work in taking care of Shiori. Aside from her regular duties, she would wake up Shiori, bring her down to breakfast, pick out her clothes, call her for meals, and get her ready for bed. There were probably other things in between that she did, but he wasn't going to get specific. Maybe an extra 5 dollars an hour would match up for taking care of her?

When he looked back to his document, he reasoned that if he spent an extra hour on it, he would be able to take the day off to accompany Shiori (and Mokuba) in shopping.

Seto typed away madly, as he always did, and completed what he had set out for. He had managed to finish, and get to bed at a reasonable hour – at least for him.

**---**

He joined Shiori and Mokuba at breakfast the next morning, of which he had only done about once or twice before. And even then he didn't spend much time there, since he had to eat quickly and head for the workshop, or to KaibaCorp offices.

Shiori switched seats for the day, and pulled up a chair next to her father. Mokuba was in hysterics in his mind. She was trying so hard for her father to warm up to her, and generally like her. He knew that Kaiba did, and he might even love her just a tiny bit, but he was terrible at expressing emotions, aside from anger, disappointment and contempt, and all its other wonderful synonyms. Love did not seem to fit in there.

"And to what do we owe this occasion of you joining us, Seto?" Mokuba asked. Kaiba gave a "very-funny" face to Mokuba, who could only grin sheepishly.

"Yume told me last night that you Shiori have ruined most of your clothes. I'm taking the both of you out to go shopping," he replied. Mokuba looked a little confused. Seto hardly _ever_ went shopping, except for those expensive things like boats and planes. Any clothes he got were custom made by a tailor, who came to the estate.

Shiori was on the verge of jumping up and down in her seat, she was so excited. She had never been shopping before. Any clothes she was given were second hand donations. They weren't scrappy clothing, but she would definitely appreciate new clothing over old.

Yume ushered her up to her room to change, where an outfit was laid out on her bed. Yume explained that it used to belong to her when she was her age, and she didn't want to part with it because it was her favourite, and she didn't want her younger sister grubbing it up. But she would gladly give it to Shiori. Shiori hugged her waist tightly, thanking her, before running off into her closet to change.

The dress Yume gave her wasn't incredibly lavish and expensive. It was a simple white dress, themed after a sailor's outfit. There was a large, navy blue bow on the chest, and the lapels were also white, with a darker navy line running around it. It was a long dress – Yume figured that perhaps it would reach just beyond her knees.

"Now, you're going to have to promise me that you won't ever get this dirty like the rest of your clothes!" Yume laughed. Shiori flung herself out to her waist, hugging her tightly.

"I wouldn't ever ruin something to important to you, Yume!" said Shiori, looking up at Yume.

Mokuba and Kaiba were waiting at the bottom of the main staircase for Yume to bring Shiori down. It was reaching 11 o'clock, and it would take them a while to buy Shiori an entire new wardrobe.

"Oh, wait Shiori. Your buckle isn't even on right!"

Seto and Mokuba looked to the top of the staircase, where Shiori was standing, staring at her feet. Yume was fumbling with the difficult buckle on her sandals, and Shiori couldn't help but laugh at her frustration.

In the two weeks she'd been living with them, Kaiba had never seen Shiori the way he was right now. Normally, she dressed the part of a tomboy. He hardly recognized his daughter at the top of the staircase, in the dress she was wearing.

When she saw her father and uncle standing at the bottom of the stairs, she rushed down at lightening speed, her fresh white dress following close behind her.

She stopped in between Mokuba and Kaiba. Mokuba was about to say something, but Kaiba beat him to it.

"You look wonderful, Shiori," he said, the faintest of smiles on his face. It was enough for her to realize what he meant. She grabbed hold of his hand, and this time, he didn't feel so awkward. He took her hand back, and walked out the door with her and Mokuba.

Mokuba pointed out that no parent would ever buy their 8-year-old designer clothing to run around and get dirty in, like Kaiba was probably planning. He made a suggestion to go to the one place where it was almost guaranteed they would find the perfect clothes for Shiori. The _one place_ where Kaiba practically vowed never to visit unless absolutely necessary.

**The mall**.

There were teenagers everywhere. Mall royalty who sat in the food court munching on a small box of fries, with bags sitting at their feet filled with purchases that are not worth the actual fabric or labour. Why young women pay top dollar for so little clothing, no one will understand.

Shiori grasped Kaiba's hand tighter, as Mokuba lead the way through the building expertly. Seto earned very amused looks from the mall-goers. Most didn't hide the fact that they were obviously staring at them (one was so entranced that he dropped his drink all over his shirt). Shiori seemed completely oblivious to it all, thankfully.

"Hey, Mokuba!" someone called. Mokuba searched out the voice of who called him, and smiled when he found them. Gravity defying, star shaped, two toned hair… it could only mean one person.

"Hey, Yugi!" he cried back, waving his arm in the air. Seto scowled. _Not them…_

The group, consisting of Yugi, Jounouchi, his sister Shizuka, Honda and Anzu, rushed up to them. Simultaneously, their gaze went from Shiori, to Kaiba, to their two hands held together, and towards Mokuba for some sort of answer. Anzu and Shizuka couldn't help but put on a cute smile, along with Yugi. Honda looked slightly confused. Jounouchi had a mischievous grin on his face.

"Hey Kaiba, who's the kid?" Jounouchi asked. Shiori stood up straight, her head tilted up in some sort of self satisfaction.

"I'm Shiori Kaiba!" she beamed.

"_Kaiba_? You mean..." Honda trailed off. Seto was getting very close to making a snide remark, when Mokuba intervened.

"She's my little sist - I mean, my niece," he explained. When the four of them looked at Seto for confirmation, he simply nodded.

"That's adorable! I don't think I've ever seen a girl as cute as you, Shiori!" Shizuka squealed. Anzu nodded in agreement.

"What are you doing here?" Yugi asked.

"Shiori needed new clothes, so… that's pretty much it…" Mokuba chuckled.

"I take it you don't like shopping all that much, right Kaiba?" Anzu asked. He gave her an "_obviously_…" look, which she took as her cue to continue.

"Why don't we tag along? Shizuka and I could help Shiori pick out some stuff. You know, the women's touch and all that!" Anzu offered. Seto wasn't exactly keen on spending the day with them, but then again, he didn't exactly have a good eye for clothing, aside from what he picked out for himself of course.

"Go ahead," he said, grimly. Shiori let go of his hand and transferred herself over to Anzu and Shizuka, who each took her hands as they began walking down the wing again. Seto's hand felt slightly empty without Shiori's hand filling in the space it had previously occupied, and curled into a soft-handed fist. He rested them in his pockets.

They followed right behind the girls, who were darting into almost every store that carried clothing that would fit Shiori. When they passed the lingerie store, he faintly remembered whacking Jounouchi and Honda on the backs of their heads, telling them to act up and set and example for Shiori. Or maybe he hit them, and said they were barbaric idiots, and those mannequins were the closest thing to women that they could ever get.

He couldn't remember which one, but he was sure Shiori heard neither of them.

Mostly, Shiori sought the advice of the girls when she tried on something. Jounouchi, Honda and Mokuba had left them a few stores back to go to the arcade in the mall. It was only Seto, Yugi, and the girls.

He spent a fair amount of time waiting around with Yugi, which was deemed at 8 out of 10 on the awkward scale. Yugi was one who always had something to say. Kaiba wasn't. He wasn't a social person, especially to Yugi's gang.

Yugi thought for the longest time for _something_ to talk about, to make the situation feel less strange.

"On a scale of one to ten, how special is Shiori to you?" Yugi finally asked.

Seto looked at him. This could be treated as a trick question. Basically, if he answered anything less than 9, he was heartless.

In all honesty though, he didn't know the answer. He hadn't gotten to know her enough, hadn't gotten used to her, to be able to say. It took him a long time to think of the answer.

"11," he finally stated. Yugi smiled. It was a good answer.

"Hey Kaiba, come here for a second!" Anzu called. Kaiba pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on and stood next to Anzu.

Shizuka had just scurried into the change room that Shiori was in when he heard he ask for help.

"What is it?"

"Shiori wanted to show you one of the outfits she picked out, that's all," Anzu replied. Shizuka came out of the stall moments later, followed by Shiori.

When he saw Shiori that morning, he swore he hadn't seen anything as beautiful. But her in the outfit she was currently wearing made the dress that morning pale in comparison.

It was a soft, off white baby blue dress; it's colour complimenting her golden brown hair and large azure eyes. The dress was almost completely ruffled, and had a few ribbons, all in a tasteful way. It was a difficult dress made to look simple and clean.

He smiled the invisible Seto Kaiba smile, and took her hand, raising it high so she could pirouette in place. The dress flowed around her gracefully, and landed exactly as it had started.

Kaiba stared down at his daughter. Another one of his faint smiles graced his face. It was all she needed to know he approved.

"Don't you think she looks cute?" Anzu asked, when Shizuka went back into the stall with Shiori to help her out of the outfit. Kaiba shook his head.

"She looks beautiful," he replied, before turning and leaving the change rooms. He took his place beside Yugi once again.

"I lied. I meant to say 15," Kaiba said to Yugi. Yugi smiled from ear to ear. Apparently he's capable of that.

Slowly but surely, an 8-year-old named Shiori Kaiba was winning his heart.

The Kaiba family left late that afternoon, at approximately 4 pm, with four bags of clothing. Anzu and Shizuka dubbed Shiori the greatest discount shopper under the age of 10. She apparently had managed to find exactly what she wanted while it was on sale, or in two-for-one deals. She had two outfits meant just for working in the workshop with Seto. Others, her 'play clothes'. The dress she tried on would be her formal wear, since Kaiba was obliged to attend several functions, and she would have to come along.

She spent apart of her evening with Mokuba in the games room, and the hour before bedtime showing Yume all the new clothes she got.

"It sounds like you had a good time today, Shiori," Yume said as she began the nightly routine: ensure Shiori brushed her teeth and flossed, got her changed, got her a glass of water, and tucked her into bed.

"Mhmm! I did. I really like all of Kaiba and Mokuba's friends, too. Anzu and Shizuka and Yugi are so nice, and Jounouchi and Honda showed me a bunch of games in the arcade before we left!" she said.

"They're an interesting bunch, I know that much," Yume chuckled. She didn't expect that Kaiba used the term 'friends' loosely. When Shiori was secure and comfortable in her bed, Yume knelt down and kissed her forehead lightly.

"Night, kiddo," she said, before going to the door and turning off the light, enveloping Shiori in the subtle darkness of the night. She fell asleep shortly thereafter, only after saying goodnight to her father and uncle.

Seto put in a few hours in his home office before retreating to bed at 11 that night. He never realized how much energy was spent shopping. He now had a vague idea of the term "shop 'till you drop".

Shiori was warm and comfortable in her new flannel pyjamas, and had a perfect slumber that night. She had a lot of new stuff that she was extremely thankful for getting, thanks to one special person in her life.

_Her Daddy, Seto Kaiba._

**---**

_This story totally looked bigger on word -cries- _

**I have the pictures I used as reference for Shiori's two dresses on my photobucket. I'll put the URL on my homepage, if you need a nice visual reference! NOTE that Shiori does not look like that! There are also the pictures I used as a self reference to Shiori's appearance during her life in that same section. w00t** Feel free to look around my album (shameless advertising!)_  
_

**If you want to be one of the cool and distinguished "rawk'd" ones, press that little button down there that says "submit a review"! **

**xoxo from xLHx**

**Ja Ne!**_  
_


	4. Author Note Dec 1407

-crawls out from under her rock-

Hello :)  
So, a nice personal message from me! A quick one, too, since I need to get writing again.

I put that I'd be taking the story down by the 15th. Sooo... changed my mind! I talked with my super awesome beta/super awesome friend D0nQuix0te, and I'm NOT going to take it down. It'll be on official hiatus, but I will still rewrite it.

Since I've been gone, I've basically grown as a writer, and I'm no longer satisfied with what I've written. I want to rewrite this, with a more in depth plot, and generally a better quality that what I've done, not only to make your reading experience all the more enjoyable, but for my own satisfaction :) I'm not trying for a career in writing, but it's something I enjoy doing and would like to improve on it as much as I can.

Make sense to you?

So, I can't say when the _new_ story will be out. I'm writing something else, but I'll work on this once I've finished what I intended on doing. I'll have two projects at once!

Tata for now!  
xLHx


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